by Jen Peters
“Brilliant,” Micah said.
Adam grinned without taking his eyes off Dad. “He’ll be riding us into the ground when he’s ninety. You know, sometimes he does something that makes me worry he’s having problems, and then I watch him like this and my worries disappear.”
An hour later, they had the yearlings in several large pens, ready to vaccinate. The cowhands relaxed in their saddles, chatting while their horses dozed in the sun. Dad seemed in deep conversation with Jesse.
“Luis, you got the grub?” Adam called.
‘Sure do, boss.” He hefted an ice chest out of the Gator.
The other cowboys dismounted, dropping their reins to the ground. With the horses taught to ground-tie, they wouldn’t wander off. The men gathered around Luis, grabbing thick roast beef sandwiches and single-person apple pies. Adam joined them, trying to limp as little as possible.
“Mmm,” Dad said, grabbing a bite while he settled on the ground next to Adam and Micah. “Sure am glad Uncle Dirt’s doing our cooking these days.”
Adam nodded. They had a housekeeper come in once a week, but since Aunt Sarah left a few years ago, Uncle Dirt had taken over the cooking.
“He’s saving some for us tonight, right?” Jesse said, folding his long body next to Micah.
“Of course,” Dad said. “I think he’s cooking kitchen tonight.”
“Huh?” Adam’s head shot up.
“Uncle Dirt,” Dad said. “He’s cooking steaks for us.”
“But you said…” Adam’s voice trailed off. Just because his father had mixed up a word didn’t mean Adam had to point it out. He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Steak sounds good.”
By late afternoon, six tired cowboys headed back home. Adam had kept a close eye on Dad, but no more strange words had shown up. Maybe it really was worry over nothing.
He put it out of his mind and concentrated on Uncle Dirt’s juicy. And unexpectedly wondered what Maddy would be having for dinner.
8
The next week dragged for Maddy. When her eyes crossed over expense deductions, she’d shift to catching up invoices and then back again. All while being hyper-aware of Adam’s presence when he was at his desk and his absence when he was out on the ranch. The conflict of her unexpected attraction to him added to her complicated life left her feeling like she was on a spinning carnival ride.
Mr. Black was mostly out doing ranch chores, but when he was there, he either sat quietly at his desk or told her stories of growing up on the ranch. “It was simpler back then, Missy,” he said.
And then there was the scrub jay.
Lacey brought it in each day before school. Adam coaxed bread and milk down its throat when he was in, and Maddy took over the task when he wasn’t. Each time Adam fed the bird, she wondered if he’d ask her to help. Wondered if she’d have the same reaction to his touch. He hadn’t needed her help again, but it was obvious that her attraction to the cowboy was growing.
Maddy had been alone in the office all morning, her eyes glued to the last submission screen for their tax return, but now she sensed a presence behind her. Adam or Mr. Black?
Her heart raced. Adam? Would he look exhausted this morning, or would his eyes sparkle when he said hello?
A chair creaked, and she knew it was the senior Mr. Black. And again had to tamp down her disappointment.
A few minutes later, the older man said, “I’m sorry to disturb you, but could you help me for just a minute?”
“Of course, Mr. Black. What do you need?”
He waved his hands in protest. “Oh no. None of this ‘Mr. Black,’ remember. I answer to Samuel.”
“Right, Samuel.” He was kind and not overbearing—she liked him. She scooted over in her chair. “What can I help you with?”
“It’s these tax papers,” he said. “The quarterly payments look different from last year’s. I want to make sure I’m doing them right.”
“But…wouldn’t I be doing those?” With the annual tax return almost done, the quarterlies were next on her list.
“Sometimes,” he said rather insistently. “Sometimes I do them. Depends on who’s busiest. But they’re due now, and see here?” He pointed to an open box. “It says to put the prior year’s credits, but we didn’t have any credits. We still had an amount to pay.”
Maddy put a smile on her face and a gentle hand on his arm. “Mr. Black, Samuel, there are credits, they just aren’t what you think they are. And you’re actually looking at the January payment, not April. Let me pull what I’ve done so far and we’ll check it.”
She turned toward her desk, but jumped when she saw Adam’s hovering figure.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.” Adam’s voice was a low growl.
Her heart pounded in surprise. Was he angry about something? Or still in pain from his ankle? Maddy glanced down and wondered if his cowboy boots made it ache more.
She looked back up at him. “Your dad had a question about the tax worksheet. And…there’s more.” She motioned him out to the hall.
“Samuel’s fretting about the January quarterly payment. I know that one got paid on time. I’m not sure why he’s so worried about it.” She paused, trying to calm her pulse. Trying not to react to his closeness. His aftershave. Stop it, Maddy. You’re acting like a teenager!
She took a shallow breath. “I’ve also found a few discrepancies with invoices and payments not matching up, and it makes me wonder what how accurate your old accountant was.”
Adam ran his hand through his hair. He stared into space, then finally looked back at her. “Dad’s just got a lot on his mind and gets mixed up sometimes. But tell me about the discrepancies.”
Maddy led him back into the office, changed computer tabs and showed him the highlighted lines. “There were only a few to begin with, and then it’s like she overpaid almost every invoice for several months.”
He grimaced and studied the numbers on the screen. His expression changed from curiosity to concern to anger. Finally, he spoke. “She was embezzling. Look—the feed store, the vet, and three out-of-town suppliers, but never the electric bill.”
Maddy squeezed her eyes shut. Of all the despicable things to do… An accountant was supposed to safeguard the truth, to be trusted both with a company’s innermost secrets and their finances. How could anyone give up their integrity for such a relatively small sum?
She finally looked at Adam, who was muttering to himself. She stiffened—was he going to lose his temper again?
But he only straightened and spoke louder. “Mrs. Evans seemed to change in her last couple months, acted a little differently, especially since she gave her notice. I thought it was just because she was leaving to retire somewhere warmer, but I guess there was more to it than that.”
He ran a hand through his hair again, tousling it delightfully. Maddy smacked the thought down—she did not need to think of him that way.
Adam finally spoke again. “I thought there was nothing I hated more than someone lying to me, but I guess lying and stealing is worse.”
“Do you want me to do a full audit?” When would she get her own office back? How long would she have to sidestep around this awkward attraction?
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes, please. Let’s see exactly what damage she caused, and then we can decide what to do.”
Maddy nodded. She looked over at Samuel and whispered, “What about your dad?”
“I’ll talk to him,” Adam said just as quietly. “Let me know when you’ve got some answers.” He turned to go, then stopped in the doorway. After a long minute, he turned, his tired eyes a warm cobalt blue. “I never did apologize properly for my tirade that first day. I shouldn’t have let go like that. It was just…” His voice trailed off.
“Just that there was danger,” Maddy finished. He’d already apologized to Mia, so she wasn’t expecting this, but it was nice. She had never in her life had an apology after someone yelled at her. Not from a grown man, anyway.<
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She didn’t quite know what to think. She wasn’t sure she could trust him not to lose his temper in the future, but… Apologies and aftershave were a heady mix.
9
Maddy and Lacey had just slid a large pan of lasagne into the oven Saturday afternoon when Micah’s voice rang out. “You over here, Lacey?”
The teenager rolled her eyes. “Brothers!” she muttered. She went to the door anyway. “Yes, Micah dear? Checking up on me again?”
Maddy heard Micah snort. “Sure. Not like I have anything else to do all day, right? No, I just wanted to know if you want to…what am I smelling? Tomato sauce and cupcakes?”
A pause, then, “Oof!”
Maddy grinned. It sounded like she wasn’t the only one to slug her brothers occasionally.
Booted footsteps sounded on her floor, and Maddy turned around to see Micah pulling his battered cowboy hat off. He held it against his chest and looked hopeful. “You guys have been cooking?”
Maddy shrugged. The table was covered with cinnamon honey roll-ups and a butter pecan cake, not to mention all the pots and pans littering the kitchen. “Turns out Lacey and I have a kitchen hobby in common.”
“Mama makes lasagne and Lacey makes treats,” Mia piped up.
“Mm, mmm,” Micah said. “Are you sharing, or are you going to eat it all yourself?”
“We’re sharing.” Maddy smiled.
Lacey spoke at the same time. “Only people who work get to eat.”
“Hey, I work!” Micah protested.
Lacey smirked. “Not anything to do with making treats. I’d think if someone wanted a piece of cake, they would be willing to pitch in on the cleanup.”
“Sheesh!” Micah said. “If you were six years old again, I’d send you to your room for being disrespectful.”
“If I were six years old, I wouldn’t be using the oven,” Lacey retorted.
“I’m six years old!” Mia added.
Maddy watched the banter with delight. They reminded her so much of her own family, and it filled an empty space in her heart.
“I’ll tell you what,” she put in when she got a chance, “Micah, you can help me wash up while Lacey gets the plates and cuts the cake.”
“You’re on!” Micah tossed his hat onto the couch and rolled his sleeves up.
“I get to rinse!” Mia said, pushing a chair to the sink.
Micah told a brief story of Lacey when she was little, and Lacey retaliated by sharing some of Micah’s more exciting teenage exploits. Like the time he took the four-wheeler out when he was grounded, and when he’d eaten a whole pie by himself in the middle of the night.
“That’s not fair!” he cried, snapping the dishtowel at her.
The teenager dodged easily. “That’s what Caleb said when he found out you’d eaten it all.”
Maddy declared the kitchen clean, and Micah dropped the teasing to grab a plate. “Butter pecan cake? Never heard of it.”
They settled on the front porch, the spring breeze chilling them despite the sun, and dug in.
“Mmm,” Micah said. “Tastes just like the ice cream without the cold. Didn’t know you could cook like this, sis.”
Lacey blushed. “This is the first good thing I’ve made from a real recipe. Maddy helped me.”
Micah nodded at Maddy, his mouth full again. When he swallowed, he said, “I think we’ll have to keep you around.”
“Keep her around for what?” Caleb said, striding up the driveway with Wes.
Micah pointed at the women with a fork. “Lacey and Maddy have been cooking.”
Maddy smiled a welcome. “It’s on the table—help yourself.”
They returned in a moment, each with a plate in one hand and a dining chair in the other. As they settled, Caleb said, “We were gonna hang out at Wes’s cabin until evening chore time, but this is even better!”
“What? No hot date tonight?” Lacey teased.
“Nah, Susie’s out of town, Caitlyn’s mad at me, and Ronni has a new boyfriend.”
Maddy’s eyes goggled, but Micah just laughed. “Don’t worry. You’ll catch one someday, Bro.”
Caleb slapped his cowboy hat at him. “Look who’s talking!”
They ate and talked and laughed, telling old stories and new jokes. The warm afternoon gave way to a late-day chill. Micah got quieter as the others chatted, but Mia snuggled in Lacey’s lap, and Maddy felt more at home than she had in a long time. Maybe she ought to cook dinner for everyone on the weekends.
“What time are your evening chores?” she asked.
Wes shrugged, but Caleb spoke up. “It depends on the daylight. For the horses, we bring the mares and foals in for grain just before sundown. The others stay in the pasture. It changes day to day for the cattle.”
“If they’re all out on the range, or in the home pastures with good grazing, there aren’t really any evening chores,” Micah said. “Just all-day chores, unless we break for something. If we’ve got them in for some reason, then it just depends.”
“Do you guys get much time off?”
Wes snorted, then lowered his head again. He seemed a quiet sort of guy.
Micah smiled ruefully. “Only when Adam lets us. Meaning, not as much as we’d like.”
“Speak for yourself, bro!” Caleb put in. “I work the horses on my own schedule.”
“Yeah, but you still get roped in for branding and stuff. Get it, roped in.” Micah smirked.
Caleb rolled his eyes.
Lacey groaned. “Geez, you guys are lame. You probably still say ‘Up and at ‘em’ when Adam shows up, don’t you?”
Maddy smiled, then stopped as another deep voice spoke.
“That’s better than ‘Up and at ‘em, Adam Ant,’” Adam said.
Maddy tried to quiet the sudden bouncing of her heart. Why should it be bouncing, anyway? She was a grown woman with responsibilities.
“What is this, hide out at Maddy’s?” he asked.
Caleb leaned back, stretched his boots out in front of him, and clasped his hands behind his head. “Nah, we’re just soaking up some relaxation and good food.”
Adam scowled. “Are you saying I’m not relaxed?” He glared at his brothers, then grinned. “I guess the shoe fits sometimes.”
“Sometimes? Hah!” Lacey said. “Lacey do this. Lacey do that. Lacey, did you finish?”
“Yeah, but not all the time,” Adam protested. “Now, did I hear something about food?”
Maddy stood, ready to show him into the cabin, but Micah forestalled her.
“Wait a minute,” Micah said. “Didn’t someone tell me a man has to work for his food?”
Lacey laughed. “He can wash the plates after.”
Inside, Adam dished himself up a large serving of cake. Maddy had been having such fun listening to the others; she hoped Adam didn’t put a damper on it.
“I actually came out to ask you about financial stuff,” Adam said, picking up his fork, “but now that I think about it, it can wait until Monday.” He took a bite and moaned in delight. “This is incredible! I’d hire you to cook for us, except it would hurt Uncle Dirt’s feelings.”
Maddy grinned. “Actually, I only did the lasagne that’s still baking. Lacey gets the kudos for the cake.”
Adam’s eyebrows went sky high. “Really? Lacey made this?”
“With a little help. She’s been trying things off YouTube videos, and this was a regular recipe we found online. But she’s pretty good, you know.”
“I have a hard time remembering she’s not a little girl anymore.”
Maddy looked out the open door to where Lacey sat. The teen wore a light coat of mascara but no other makeup, just fresh-faced natural beauty. Her sweater showed off her slender curves, and her determination to master something by herself was impressive. “She’s just about grown up, Adam. You’ll probably want to start changing the way you think of her. Like, yesterday.”
Adam made a face. “I’m used to the others being full adults, but Lacey…
if she’s grown up, that means I’m old.”
Caleb chimed in from the doorway. “You are old, bro. And you guys are being very cozy in here together. You going to come out and join us, or shall we leave you alone?”
Maddy’s eyes widened—they’d only been talking, and not very long at that! She glanced at Adam. He was actually blushing. She’d never thought cowboys blushed.
She grabbed another chair and headed out to the porch, Adam following. She set the chair where there was space, but Adam slapped Lacey’s leg and jerked his head sideways. She moved, and he took Lacey’s place—right next to Maddy.
She tried to relax as the stories started up again, but a sense of confusion built inside her. Was Adam possibly attracted to her? And if so, how did she feel about it when she was trying to tamp down her own attraction?
She shook her head. She wasn’t a giddy teenager anymore. She was a single mom with a messed up life and secrets to keep, and no way would a relationship fit in her life right now. Especially with her boss! She put the thought away and determined to enjoy the evening.
And enjoy it, she did. She discovered Adam could laugh as readily as his brothers, that he enjoyed teasing back, and that the family had a lot of love flowing between them. Who are you, and what have you done with the old Adam? she thought.
“So can we expect treats on a regular basis, Lacey?” he asked. “Just what kind of work will you want in return?”
Lacey twirled her fork in her fingers. “Oh, nothing too bad. Somebody could take over cleaning the bathrooms, somebody else could groom my horse after I ride…”
“O-ho!” Caleb cried. “A rider who doesn’t have to care for her own mount? Never!”
“Okay then, how about somebody cleans my tack for me?”
Micah waggled a finger at her. “We’re too old and experienced to let you get away with that. I’m thinking more like licking the beaters so they don’t need as much washing.”